John Tavares’ impending milestone is one focus as the Maple Leafs head into the final week of October.
The Leafs will finally get on the road for a little stretch as they head into Columbus and Philadelphia on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively, before returning home for a four-game home stand starting next Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
First though, a visit on Tuesday by the Calgary Flames, who sat last in the National Hockey League heading into their game on Sunday night against the New York Rangers.
The Flames were last in the NHL, as well, in goals for, averaging 1.67 a game prior to Sunday. They were the only club averaging less than two goals a game.
Anyway, Tavares would love to score his 500th NHL goal at Scotiabank Arena, and probably would prefer to get it done on Tuesday (in a victory, of course) before the Leafs travel. In 33 games against the Flames, Tavares has 12 goals.
Tavares’ 500th goal not only will make him the 49th player in NHL history to reach that plateau, but it will tie him with former Leafs winger Lanny McDonald on the NHL list. During his Hall of Fame career, McDonald scored 219 goals with the Leafs.
Tavares has scored 227 goals in 524 games with the Leafs.
Other Leafs points of interest this week:
INJURY INQUIRIES
We’ll have a clearer idea on Monday at practice, after the Leafs had Sunday off, about the status of forwards William Nylander and Scott Laughton.
The latter has been out since suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 2 against Detroit in the Leafs’ penultimate preseason game.
Laughton won’t be rushed in returning to the lineup, but we can imagine he would aim to be back in time to play against the Flyers. That would mark his first game in Philly since the Leafs acquired him from the Flyers last month. If Laughton is unable to play on Saturday, he would get another shot at making his emotional return on Jan. 8, the Leafs’ only other road game against the Flyers this season.
Once Laughton is back, Leafs coach Craig Berube can go about cementing his fourth line. Presumably, Laughton and Steven Lorentz would be a pair, considering the chemistry they built before Laughton got hurt. Does Berube automatically put Easton Cowan on the line after it performed as well as it did in the preseason?
Cowan, like the majority of his Leafs teammates, has played spotty hockey through nine games as the club has gone 4-4-1. That familiarity could help the rookie. First, though, it’s about getting Laughton up to game speed.
As for Nylander, nothing kept him out of the Leafs lineup in the regular season in 3 1/2 years until Saturday, when he was scratched after taking part in warmup. He’s dealing with a lower-body injury suffered in Buffalo on Friday, and if he does return, we would argue for keeping him with captain Auston Matthews on the top line. One way or the other, too, we think Nick Robertson should continue to get a look with Matthews.
Berube hasn’t demonstrated much patience with his No. 1 line. Matthews has played with five right wingers already. Simply, that’s a little ridiculous. The coach has to be a little firmer in his decisions. A line can’t have success if it’s not given the proper chance to do so.
Meanwhile, defenceman Chris Tanev (upper body) can’t be activated from injured reserve before the game against the Flames. We wouldn’t count on seeing him in Columbus either, and the Philly game could be a stretch as well.
Not that he was hurt, but expect Anthony Stolarz back in his crease at practice on Monday after he got the day off on Saturday. Stolarz needed the rest and it was wise for the Leafs to give him a break.
Goaltender Dennis Hildeby was returned to the Toronto Marlies on Sunday after he was recalled to back up Cayden Primeau against Buffalo on Saturday.
We’re bound to have a Joseph Woll sighting as well now that he is back with the Leafs following a leave for personal reasons.
ON THE ICE
Overlooked against the Sabres in the aftermath of Tavares’ 499th goal for the overtime winner were contributions from new forwards Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua.
Each scored for the second time with the Leafs — Joshua in consecutive games — and regular production from both would make Berube happy.
Joshua has to be a greater presence in the net-front in the offensive zone, and scoring in back-to-back games should provide some confidence. Maccelli has shown glimpses of the offence the Leafs thought they were getting when they acquired him from Utah in the offseason, but there has to be more from the 25-year-old. Whether he can provide it with consistency is the question.
On the whole, the Leafs had more spirit in the 4-3 win against the Sabres than they had shown in most of their previous games, but the defensive-zone troubles won’t be ironed out overnight.
It wasn’t a perfect triumph by any means, and steps still can be taken to increase connectivity among the five-man units.